BRIAN LITTLE handed goalkeeper John Achterberg just what he wanted at Luton Town on Saturday: an early return for first team duty with Tranmere Rovers.

BRIAN LITTLE handed goalkeeper John Achterberg just what he wanted at Luton Town on Saturday: an early return for first team duty with Tranmere Rovers.

Manager Little ended the Dutchman's eight-game absence - caused by a knee ligament injury - a week earlier than planned so he could face the league lead-ers.

Russell Howarth, who had deputised for more than a month, had to settle for a place on the bench at Kenilworth Road as Rovers took away a creditable 1-1 draw.

Little explained: "We knew John could play next weekend but I felt it was important to play him in this game.

"Les Parry (physio) and I took John out on Friday to check his kicking was okay and he would be able to play.

"Russ has done well in the last few weeks but he had looked a little nervous early in the game at Oldham last Tuesday.

"We knew Luton were going to knock a lot of balls in our box and at Oldham we felt our centre-backs were looking for someone to come for those balls."

Achterberg's return was marked by a first-half booking for time-wasting. The goalkeeper had been ticked off by referee Lee Probert for remonstrating with his defenders before going to retrieve a ball that had run out of play.

Little was unhappy that Achterberg's actions should have been punished saying: "John is not the ball boy. If the ball is thrown out it's not his job to go and get it."

Little said he was also pleased with the contributions of Ian Sharps, back at the heart of the defence following suspension and illness, and Eugene Dadi, who led the attack and scored Tranmere's fifth-minute goal.

The manager explained: "It was important to have a player with presence up front today and I felt Eugene did well in the game.

"We came here with a system to combat Luton's strengths and I felt it worked pretty well.

"We set out to be strong. Everyone gave everything they could. It certainly wasn't a negative performance. We wanted to win the game. It was a good, hard-earned point and I felt for most of the game that we might win it."

Little reckoned the penalty award that led to Luton's 53rd-minute equal-iser by Kevin Nicholls was "debatable".

He said: "I would like to look at it closely on video because it was not clear-cut."

Little reported Iain Hume, who was withdrawn at half-time, has a thigh strain.

Centre-back Ian Goodison, who went off after taking a blow on the head, has made a full recovery, he said.